


Caught In The Storm

by WeirdyMcWeirderton



Series: Alex Series [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29967894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeirdyMcWeirderton/pseuds/WeirdyMcWeirderton
Summary: New installment to my Alex series. Sequel to Speed of Sound. Things start to come to light and the Avengers find themselves in a war. Questions are answered and questions are formed. Wills are tested and relationships are thrown about. Will this finally be the storm Alex has been waiting for? And will she and the Avengers finish it?
Series: Alex Series [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/120234





	1. Chapter 1

A folder is thrown onto the table next to Alex with a thump. Alex glances up from writing her report and over at the person standing next to her. Seeing Nina with almost a grimace on her face, Alex raises an eyebrow. Alex glances down at the folder before she speaks.  
“What’s this?” Alex asks before she glances back up at Nina.  
“Read it,” Nina replies with a nod of her chin at the folder.  
Alex furrows her brow but opens the folder anyways. She glances through the information and a few words pop out at her; words like Hydra and Dark Renegade. Out of the corner of her eye Alex sees Nina lean up against her desk. With a purse of her lips Alex continues to read through the information. Before Alex can ask any questions, Nina starts speaking.  
“Dark Renegade is an elite division of Hydra,” Nina begins to explain causing Alex’s head to snap up.  
“What?” she asks with wide eyes and Nina nods her head in confirmation. “Then, why were there so many of them two years ago in that clearing?”  
“Tryouts? I don’t know, maybe the ones that survived got in,” Nina offers with a shrug of a shoulder and a scrunch of her nose. Alex looks back down at the folder in front of her before speaking again.  
“Why did you…?” Alex asks with a shake of her head and her eyes lift back up from the folder and up to meet Nina’s.  
“Johnny asked me to,” Nina replies as she meets Alex’s gaze. Alex nods her head and looks back down at the folder.  
“I asked you to do what?” Johnny’s voice sounds from behind them. Both girls look over at him and Johnny notices the folder lying on the table. “Is that…?”  
“Yeah,” Nina replies with a nod of her head. Johnny walks over to the desk and begins to read through the information from over Alex’s shoulder.  
“We should let my parents know,” Alex says with a sigh and looks at Johnny who nods his head in agreement before looking back down at the file.  
“Are they back?” Johnny asks before he glances back over at Alex to meet her gaze. Alex shakes her head and forces a swallow.  
“I don’t think so,” Alex replies and runs a hand through her hair with a sigh. Her parents are on a mission and Alex isn’t exactly sure when they are supposed to be back. She is nineteen years old and still isn’t told much of anything it seems; even with the three of them getting promoted to Avengers. With a scowl and a huff Alex leans back in her chair.  
“Steve would know,” Johnny says before he begins to gather the contents of the folder. Alex nods her head and saves her report on her computer before signing off and shutting it down. The three agents quickly make their way to where Steve’s office is.  
When they walk down the main hall, Alex notices the Maximoff twins walking towards them. Pietro smiles at her as they level up to them. Alex returns the smile with one of her own. With a snort under his breath, Johnny shakes his head trying to hide an amused smirk.  
“Alex,” Pietro says with his accent heavy and turns and walks backwards to keep Alex in his eyesight. Alex smirks when she notices Wanda smack him in the arm. Pietro smirks before he allows his sister to turn him forward and lead him down the hallway.  
“You know, your father is going to kill you. Or him,” Johnny says letting his smirk appear and aiming it at Alex. Alex scowls and sends a glare towards Johnny which causes Johnny to raise his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. If you two follow through on whatever is happening no amount of speed will save the guy. I mean, your dad never misses.”  
“Shut up Johnny,” Alex grumbles out with a scowl. She knows he is right. It’s no secret Clint Barton and Pietro Maximoff get on each other’s nerves; even after Pietro save her dad’s life. However, the friction between the two isn’t as bad as it was in the beginning.  
“Let’s just talk to Steve,” Alex says as they reach Rogers’ door and she knocks on it. There isn’t a sound and Alex sighs. “Guess we have to search for him.”  
“Search for who?” a deep voice says from behind them and the three young adults turn to see Steve walking up to them.  
“Good. Nina found something,” Alex says bluntly and Johnny hands the folder to Steve before Alex continues. “We wanted to show mom and dad but they’re not back yet.”  
“They won’t be back for another two days,” Steve supplies as he takes the folder and begins skimming through it. His gaze suddenly darts up to the three agents before him. “You double checked this?”  
“And triple,” Nina answers with a serious expression as she meets Steve’s look.  
“This isn’t good. This means Hydra is after you,” Steve says and shifts his gaze to focus on Alex.  
“But why?” Alex asks with a shake of her head. “It’s not like I have ever been anyone special.”  
“That’s what we need to find out,” Steve announces before he walks determinedly towards Maria Hill’s office with the file in his hands.

AVENGERS

Steve walks into the rec hall and his eyes search the room. Blue eyes stop as they find his surrogate niece. Alex is at the air hockey table playing a game with Johnny, Nina, and Pietro. Wanda is leaning up against the nearby wall with a quirked brow as she watches the shenanigans happening in front of her. Johnny and Alex are on a team and Nina and Pietro are on the other.

“You can’t do that! You can’t use your powers!” Alex shouts with a grin. Pietro chuckles and raises his hands in surrender. 

“You didn’t see that coming?” Pietro asks with a gleam in his eye. Alex scowls before hitting the puck as hard as she can towards the goal. Pietro speeds to block the shot before blurring over to Alex and throwing her over his shoulder. Alex lets out a squeal and shouts at him to put her down but the grin belies the order.

Steve sighs and rolls his eyes. If Clint was here he’d be having a conniption over this. As thankful as the archer is that Pietro saved him he draws the line at dating his daughter. Steve smirks as he remembers how angry Clint had been at catching Alex and Pietro flirting a few weeks ago. It was Natasha’s intervention that stopped Clint from putting an arrow through the kid’s eye. The team isn’t entirely sure why Clint hates the kid so much but Steve has a theory it is because Pietro reminds Clint of himself. There’s another squeal and then laughter and Steve is pulled out of his thoughts and walks over to the group.

“Steve, hey,” Alex says as she steps away from Pietro who instantly lets go of her.

“Just wanted to let you know that I have the best of the best working on the Hydra-Dark Renegade angle. They’re figuring out what your connection to it is,” Steve explains with his eyes on Alex.

“So, Tony?” Alex asks with a smirk which causes Steve to wrinkle his nose.

“Well, yeah,” he replies, not that he will ever tell Tony to his face. The guy doesn’t need an ego boost but if anyone can find anything out it will be Tony. There is a sudden explosion of gunfire emanating  
from the front of the building. The whole group, along with everyone else in the room, look towards the sound.

“Pietro…” Steve says and Pietro instantly speeds towards the sound. Seconds later he speeds back into the room and stops next to the group. Steve looks at him expectantly and doesn’t like the grim expression on his face.

“It’s Hydra. And some other group…” Pietro relays with a shake of his head. Steve’s eyes widen and he looks towards the rec room door before he turns to face Johnny.

“Johnny, get her out of here,” Steve orders and Johnny nods his head. He grabs for Alex’s hand but she pulls it away.

“No, I’m not going to run like a damsel in distress,” Alex snaps out with a glare aimed at Steve.

“We don’t know why they want you. We can’t take the risk,” Steve says in a firm tone and matching glare aimed at Alex. His eyes dart to Johnny and he nods his chin at Alex. Johnny nods again and this  
time picks her up and carries her away. 

“Steve,” Alex demands as she struggles against Johnny. Johnny gets to the pool table and hits a button. The table tips up and a trap door opens up. Stairs leading down into a tunnel are revealed. Johnny glances towards the group before descending the stairs with Alex shout echoing into the room. “Steve!”


	2. Chapter 2

Steve throws his shield at the nearest Hydra agent and he falls to the ground unconscious. The shield returns and Steve catches it before turning and smashing it into another Hydra agent. He kicks yet another agent and then, punches him before swinging the shield and knocking that agent out as well. Before Steve can do anything else there is a loud whistle. 

“She’s not here! Let’s move!” a shout is heard before there is a loud explosion. Steve flies through the air and lands on the ground, rolling a few feet away. His head whips up and he sees the Hydra agents retreating and grabbing a hold of ropes descending from planes.

With a scowl, Steve shoves to his feet and runs after them. Just as he gets to the shattered windows, the planes let lose a stream of bullets. Steve leaps out of the way and behind an overturned table for cover. The bullets whiz by and throughout the room. Once the bullets stop, everything goes silent. Steve looks over the table and sees the planes are gone. Sighing in frustration, Steve turns and takes in the destruction. 

“Dammit,” Steve mutters when he realizes the Hydra agents that were left behind are now dead. There is a blur and Pietro comes to a halt next to him.

“What do we do now?” he asks as his eyes scan the carnage. Wanda approaches and looks to Steve for the lead.

“We gather the team. Pietro find Banner. Wanda get Stark. I’ll make some phone calls,” Steve delegates orders before pulling out his phone. There is a rush of air and Pietro is gone. Wanda is already on her way out in the hall to call Tony. Steve sighs knowing his first call isn’t going to be easy.

AVENGERS

“Johnny?” Alex asks as they emerge from the hidden tunnel. Johnny leads her into the nearby woods with the newly acquired backpack over his shoulder. It was on the ground at the end of the tunnel and Alex is confused at Johnny’s certainty of what it is. Johnny continues to lead her but Alex pulls her arm out of his grasp. “Johnny.”

Johnny stops and turns around with a sigh. Hazel eyes meet blue ones and Johnny knows Alex isn’t budging until he explains. He glances around but doesn’t see anyone, however, the sounds of a fight in the distance is heard.

“We had a plan in case we had to get you out fast. In case you had to go underground. The Avengers know about it but only a handful know every detail,” Johnny explains even as his eyes dart around for enemies. 

“Everyone except me that is,” Alex says with a scowl as she narrows her eyes at her partner.

“We knew you wouldn’t go for it,” Johnny replies with a grimace and his eyes meeting Alex’s once again.

“Damn right,” Alex whispers harshly with her glare hardening.

“Listen, we can fight about this later. We need to get out of here,” Johnny scolds with a firm look and this time Alex reluctantly follows.

“Where are we going?” Alex asks with a glance around the woods. Johnny pulls out a piece of paper and hands it over to her. Alex takes it and reads the scrawl written across it. She looks up and over at Johnny with wide eyes and a furrow of her brow. “My dad wrote this.”

“Yeah,” Johnny answers with a nod but still sneaks through the foliage.

“What’s in Beacon Hill?” Alex asks as she hands the paper back.

“Someone who can help us. Your dad didn’t say who; only that it is only to be used in emergencies. He said they’d find us,” Johnny answers as he takes the paper and shoves it back in his pocket.

“I don’t suppose you guys stashed a car in this plan?” Alex asks with her eyebrows raised and crossing her arms as she stops her movement. Johnny looks over at her and gives her a look. Alex sighs and speeds up to catch up to him. “Of course not.”

AVENGERS

Alex’s eyes search the crowd around her from behind the sunglasses on her face. She is leaning against a wall of the bus stop with her hands in her hoodie pocket. Footsteps approach her and her eyes shift to Johnny who is walking over to her. He also has sunglasses on and a hat on his head.

Johnny looks at Alex as he meets up with her, her hood framing her face. Handing a bus ticket to her, the two of them make their way towards their designated bus. He grabs her hand and leads her onto it, the two of them handing the driver their tickets. 

Alex’s eyes dart around and takes in everything she can. She knows Johnny is doing the same. Hydra can be anywhere and they aren’t going to take any chances. An empty seat is on the left and they quickly sit down in it. All they have to do is get to the destination on the paper and figure out why her dad sent them there. Of course, the second part is easier said than done.

AVENGERS

“What?!”

Steve cringes at the shout that sounds over the phone line. He had called Clint and Natasha but they were unable to answer. So, Steve had contacted Thor who is standing in the room at this moment. Along with the rest of the Avengers. Moments after they gathered the dreaded call from the parents came. Now, Steve is dealing with the aftermath of explaining what had transpired.

“I’m sure she’s fine. Johnny is with her…” Steve begins but Natasha’s sharp tone interrupts him.

“You don’t know that,” Romanoff clips out and Steve grimaces. He looks to Tony for help but the genius turns around and pretends he hasn’t seen anything causing Steve to roll his eyes and shoot him a scowl. 

“You’re right. I don’t. But we had the plan for a reason. We’ll contact them when things settle down,” Rogers assures and he hears a defeated sigh on the other end of the line. 

“We’ll be back by morning. Hopefully there’ll be more on all of this,” Barton’s no-nonsense voice sounds before the call is abruptly ended. With a sigh Steve puts his phone back in his pocket. Glancing over at the rest of the Avengers, he sees them all watching him with raised brows.

“Well, it went better than I thought it would,” he announces with a forced smile and Tony furrows his brow.

“How is that?” Tony asks as he leans against the table next to him and Steve smirks.

“I’m still alive,” Steve replies as he holds his arms out and the original Avengers chuckle. 

“But… you were talking to them on the phone…” Pietro says with confusion on his face and furrow of his own brow. Wanda nods her head and her expression matches her brothers.

“They’re trained assassins,” Tony says with a smirk that’s shared with the other three original members. None of them miss the interactions between Alex and Pietro. With Alex being the designated daughter of the group, the team is all on Clint’s side. “If they want to, they’ll get to you from anywhere.”

AVENGERS

Alex finishes eating her dinner as her eyes scope the patrons in the diner. They had arrived in Beacon Hill a couple hours ago, both of them hungry, not having eaten anything all day. So, they searched for a small diner to eat at and found a ‘hole in the wall’ kind of diner shortly after. After ordering their food and eating quickly the two agents have no idea where to go to from here; they only know they have to come to Beacon Hill. Apparently, they now wait until whoever is supposed to help them comes to find them. This’ll be easy, Alex thinks to herself with a roll of her eyes. With a sigh, Alex sets her fork down and wipes her mouth before throwing the napkin on her empty plate and leaning back in her chair.

“We’ll figure this out,” Johnny assures with a look towards Alex who nods her head. Alex glances around the room again only this time her eyes fall on a couple sitting across the room. She doesn’t know why, but her gut is telling her they aren’t just an ordinary couple. They both make sure their facing the door in some way and their eyes are observant of everything around them. To anyone else, they’d seem like normal people but Alex has seen her family behave the same way. She watches them closely but when she catches one of their gazes she looks away and out the window. 

“Come on,” Johnny says as he stands up and throws a couple bills down on the table. Alex pushes herself up on to her feet and the two of them start towards the door. Suddenly, someone sidles up next to her and gently grabs her arm.

“Come with me,” the woman says quietly in her ear and Alex looks over to see the female of the couple standing next to her. The woman leads her out of the diner and Alex looks behind her to see Johnny being led out by the male side of the couple. The woman leads her into the nearby alley where Alex pulls to a stop and yanks her arm out of the woman’s grip. 

“Who the hell are you? And what do you want?” Alex demands as she prepares herself for a fight. Her mind automatically begins to think that these are Hydra agents and her shoulders instantly tense. With a glance at Johnny, who is now free of the male, she sees his line of thinking is the same. 

“Just relax,” the woman says as she puts her hands in the air in a calming manner. She glances at the male who shifts to stand next to her. The woman looks back at Alex and holds her gaze before continuing. “I know Clint. I know your dad.”


	3. Chapter 3

“What?” Alex asks as she narrows her eyes at the woman before her. She doesn’t look familiar but that doesn’t mean anything. She’s sure her dad knows quite a few people she has never met. But, if these are the people who are supposed to help them, Alex was hoping she’d know who they are. 

“I know Barton. We worked together,” the woman reiterates as she keeps her eyes on Alex.

“Worked together? As in…” Alex asks as her eyes dart between the couple.

“SHIELD,” the woman says quietly as her eyes dart around. Alex studies the couple closely and then looks over at Johnny who is eying the couple himself. With her mind reeling, Alex looks back at the couple. She’s not sure if she can believe them; she’s not even sure who they are.

“I’m sorry, who are you again? And how did you know who I was?” Alex asks with narrowed eyes, suspicious of this whole scenario. The couple share a look before the woman answers.

“I’m Bobbi Morse. This is Lance Hunter. Your dad sent me a photo of you. In case you were in trouble and I had to find you,” she answers as her gaze shifts back to Alex. Alex’s mind wanders and she remembers her dad mentioning working with a Bobbi numerous times. She had always thought it was a guy. A codename comes back to her and she looks at Bobbi.

“Mockingbird,” she says and Bobbi nods her head in confirmation. Alex looks over at Johnny and he meets it, giving her a slight shrug. With a look back at Bobbi, Alex nods her head. “Prove it.”  
Bobbi shares a look with Lance before pulling out her phone. She hits a few buttons before turning the phone around. Leaning in closer, Alex reads the phone number on the screen realizes it’s her father’s. She leans back and glances over at Johnny who nods his head.

“Okay, now what?” Alex asks as she looks back over at Bobbi and Hunter.

“If you’re here then you’re in trouble. We need to get you somewhere safe,” Bobbi says as she puts her phone away and swiftly leads the two young Avengers towards a car.

AVENGERS

“You better have something,” a terse voice sounds and the Avengers turn around to see Natasha and Clint walk into Avengers Tower. 

“Nina found this,” Steve announces as he hands the folder Alex had originally gave him to Natasha and Clint. Clint takes the folder and opens it up. As he looks through the information, Natasha reads over his shoulder. Blue eyes shift up and lock on to the mentioned hacker.

“You found this?” Clint asks with a raise of his brow and Nina nods her head. Clint shifts his gaze over to Steve. “You hear from Johnny and Alex yet?”

“No,” Steve says with a shake of his head. “I told them I’d contact them when it is safe.”

“So, we have no clue where they are?” Natasha asks and Steve notices the tenseness in her jaw. She is worried and Steve doesn’t blame her; he’s worried too. Steve nods his head but glances over to the archer when Clint speaks up.

“Not necessarily,” he says and Romanoff’s head jerks up and her eyes dart over to him.

“What does that mean?” she asks with a furrowed brow and her jaw clenching.

“I gave Johnny a destination if we ever had to act on the plan,” Clint explains and Nat raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms.

“When were you going to tell me this?” she demands as she fixes Clint with a hardened stare.

“No one knew about it. In fact, it was only supposed to be used for an extreme emergency. Technically, they shouldn’t have contact with SHIELD at all. They’re are supposed to never have been involved with it,” Clint explains and glances at the rest of the Avengers before looking back over at Natasha.

“Bobbi and Hunter,” Natasha whispers as her eyes widen and Clint nods his head. Nat looks at the rest of the Avengers before shifting her gaze back to Clint. “You think they went there?”

“I’m almost positive they did,” Clint assures with a nod.

AVENGERS

Alex and Johnny follow Bobbi and Hunter through an alley. They had parked their car further down the road so as to avoid suspicion. About halfway down, Hunter opens a gate and ushers them through it before quickly following after them and shutting it. Looking around, Alex sees they are in a small backyard with a white house in front of them. There is a small porch protruding off the back door and Bobbi is already making her way towards it. 

“Hurry,” Hunter whispers and gives them a gentle push towards the house. Alex and Johnny scurry across the yard and up the steps where Bobbi is holding the back door open.   
Once inside the house Alex looks around and takes in her surroundings. To anyone else the house would look lived in; pictures on the wall, jackets hanging over chairs, shoes scattered on the floor. To Alex, she can see that everything is done with a purpose; to portray the thought of being lived in. Turning around Alex looks over at Bobbi and Hunter.

“I thought you two got out. I heard you took one for the team and had to move on with the cover that you were never involved with SHIELD,” Alex says and waits for one of them to explain. Bobbi and Hunter share a look.

“We did. But Clint’s a good friend and… well…” Bobbi tries to explain but then Hunter jumps in.

“We’re being secretive for a reason. No one can know you are here. No one can know we are involved with any of this,” he explains with a firm look at Alex and Johnny. The two young Avengers nod their heads in understanding. If anyone but the Avengers knows then Bobbi and Hunter will be compromised and things could get dicey. 

“So, now what?” Johnny asks with a glance around the room before looking back at the two ex-SHIELD agents. 

“Now, we get you some weapons,” Hunter says as he walks over to a wall that is cut into to include shelving.

“And somewhere safe,” Bobbi adds in as she follows Hunter to the wall. Hunter pushes a button under the lip of a picture frame and the shelving descends into the wall. It reveals a weapons rack and Alex raises an eyebrow.

“What is this place?” she asks as she takes a step towards the wall. 

“Yeah, how did you get this in here?” Johnny adds in and moves towards the wall as well. 

“Your dad helped us get this in. Said if things went incredibly sideways we might need it,” Bobbi explains with a smirk and a glance at Alex.

“Or he’d might need it,” Hunter says with a smirk on his own face. Johnny snorts and shakes his head.

“Sound like him,” Johnny says as he eyeballs the weapons in the rack. Alex looks at all the weapons as well and her eyes land on one in particular.

“Is that…?” she asks as she turns wide eyes to Bobbi who smirks.

“Clint said if he ever ended up here then he’d want something he’s familiar with. Guess you can use it now,” she explains as she pulls down the bow and hands it to Alex. Alex takes it and her eyes roam over it. Bobbi hands her a quiver full of arrows which she also takes. Hunter pulls down a couple handguns and hands them over to Johnny.

“You know how to use these right?” Hunter asks with raised brows. Johnny quirks an eyebrow and takes the guns from him. 

“I am in SHIELD,” Johnny replies and puts one of the handguns in his waistband and one in his boot. He looks over at Alex who has slung the bow over her back as well as the quiver. Bobbi hands her a gun and Alex slips it into her own boot. Hunter hits the hidden button again and the shelves slide back up. Bobbi walks over to the table and pulls out pen and paper and writes down an address and directions. 

“This is an address where you can get a car. And this is directions to a cabin in the woods,” Bobbi explains as she hands over the paper. Alex takes it and looks at the paper. 

“You’ll need this to get in to the cabin and this to get in to the unit with the car,” Hunter says as he hands Johnny two keys. Johnny takes them and nods his head as he puts them in his pocket. 

“I’m sorry we can’t go with you, but…” Bobbi says and gives Alex a sympathetic look.

“You can’t be seen with us. Don’t worry, we get it. Thanks for all your help,” Alex replies with a smile.

“You two should get going. It’ll be easier to travel under the cover of darkness,” Hunter says with a nod out the window where darkness has indeed fallen and Johnny nods his head in agreement.   
Johnny gently grabs Alex’s arm and leads her out the back door. If they want to get the car and be on their way to the cabin before dawn they need to leave now. Besides, they don’t want to put Bobbi and Hunter in any more danger than they’ve already had.


	4. Chapter 4

“I wish we could contact the team,” Alex grumbles and let’s out a sigh. Dropping onto the couch of the cabin, Alex crosses her arm and sends a scowl at the radio across the room.

“We can’t do that…” Johnny starts with a sigh of his own.

“I know,” Alex huffs out and aims her scowl over to her partner. “I’m just saying I wish we could.”

“Me too,” Johnny replies with with a nod of his head. “As soon as things clear up they’ll contact us.”

“I hope it’s soon,” Alex says with a sigh and sinks into the couch further.

AVENGERS

“Go fish.”

“This is ridiculous,” Alex says with a sigh. She tosses her cards onto the table and throws her hands into the air. “I am trapped in this stupid cabin playing Go Fish with Mini Hulk to pass time until my Super Spy parents contact me to say the Secret Psycho Agency trying to kill me is gone!”

“Will you relax,” Johnny says with a snort and a shake of his head. “You need to blow some steam. We can train again…” 

“I don’t want to train again Johnny. I want to go back and figure this shit storm out!” Alex shouts back and shoves her chair back before pacing the room.

“It’s only been three days. It’ll take time. They’ll want to be sure,” Johnny assures calmly, finding it ironic the guy with anger management issues is the one keeping his partner calm.

“This is stupid! I should be out there helping,” Alex snaps out and sends a glare towards the door.

“I get it…” Johnny begins but Alex cuts him off.

“Do you Johnny? Because I don’t think you do,” Alex grinds out as she spins around and fixes him with a look.

“I get that you hate being the damsel. That you can take care of yourself and that sitting back in hiding is the furthest from what you want to do. That you’re afraid because you have no clue if your family is okay,” Johnny counters with a raised brow. Alex closes her mouth and looks away. Truth is, Johnny got it on the nose. Sometimes she really hates that he knows her so well. On the other hand, it can also be a good thing. Alex sighs and walks back over to the table and takes a seat. Picking up her tossed cards she looks over at her partner.

“Go fish you said?”

AVENGERS

A static noise has Alex and Johnny stopping and looking over at the radio. They had left it on in the hope someone would contact them. Turns out, the next sound tells them they made the right choice.

“Big Bird to Little Bird over…”

Alex rolls her eyes. What is the point of having a codename if no one ever uses it. It seems as though everyone on the team has come up with some sort of name other than her actual one.

“It’s Wren,” Alex grumbles causing Johnny to smirk.

“Better than Chick or Chickadee,” Johnny says with a chuckle. Alex shoots him a glare. 

“Baby Bird you there?” Clint’s voice comes through the radio again. Alex grimaces and gives Johnny a look who only grins in return. Alex sighs and walks over to the radio. Picking up the handset she pushes the button and speaks. 

“Wren here, over,” Alex replies and let’s go of the button.

“Thank God. We were worried our Hawkling wouldn’t hear us,” Tony’s voice comes over the radio.

“You know, I have a code name for a reason. No one’s going to know who you’re talking to if you call me seven different names,” Alex complains and scowls when she hears chuckling over the radio.

“Are you two safe?” Natasha’s voice sounds over the radio this time.

“Yeah, we’re both fine,” Alex replies and can almost feel the tension disintegrate on the other end of the radio.

“Are you someplace safe?” Clint asks this time and Alex shares a look with Johnny.

“Yeah. It’s peaceful. Especially when the Mockingbirds sing,” Alex responds and hopes her dad gets the hint.

“Good,” Clint responds with a relieved sigh. “At least they’re quiet overnight.”

“True, but it’s the morning that sucks,” Alex replies and gives Johnny a glance. He raises a brow in question. 

“Second morning is always easier,” Clint replies and Alex smirks. “Big Bird out.”

With that the line goes quiet. Alex sets the handset down and turns to face Johnny. Arms crossed and eyebrows raised, Johnny waits for her to explain. 

“Care to explain? Or is the conversation exclusive to birds only?” Johnny asks and Alex rolls her eyes.

“They’ll be here morning after next,” she says with a shrug.

“Second morning is better,” Johnny repeats with a nod of understanding.

“Now we just wait,” Alex says as she sinks into the couch. “Again.”

AVENGERS

Clint walks up to the house and knocks on the door. He looks back at the delivery truck he parked on the street. Hopefully no one is the wiser. The rest of the team is waiting a few towns over. Not wanting to draw attention, it was decided Clint would go to Bobbi and Hunter’s house as a delivery man. The mission? To get the address Alex and Johnny are at.

The door opens and Clint turns to see Bobbi standing in front of him. Acting nonchalant, Clint hands a package over to her. Once Bobbi takes it, Clint pulls out a clipboard.

“I just need your signature,” Clint says and places a pen on the board. Bobbi writes on the clipboard and hands it and the pen back to Clint.

“Thank you,” she says before shutting the door.

Clint walks back to the truck and climbs in. Wanting to seem ‘normal’, he starts the vehicle and drives down the street. He glances down at the clipboard and smirks when he sees what is written. 

AVENGERS

“You get it?” Natasha asks when Clint walks into the room. 

Clint walks over to the table where the team is gathering around and gently tosses the clipboard on it. The team looks down and on the line for the signature is an address. Clint smirks and looks around at the team.

“Piece of cake,” he says and begins getting his things together. “It’ll take us four hours to get there. We should leave soon if we want to do surveillance.”

“Right. Can’t be too careful,” Natasha says with a nod and follows Clint’s lead. 

AVENGERS

Alex’s eyes spring open and it takes her a minute to remember where she is. Rubbing her eyes, Alex sits up. Taking a look around the bedroom she realizes her gut is telling her something is off. Alex runs a hand through her hair and pushes herself to her feet before walking out to the main room. Johnny is sitting at the table, hand resting on a gun lying on said table, and eyes glued to the door.

“Johnny?” Alex whispers even as her hand grabs the bow. 

“Someone’s outside,” Johnny whispers in return without taking his eyes off the door.

Alex’s eyes dart to the door as she picks up the quiver and throws it across her back. There is a sound outside the door and before Johnny knows it, Alex has an arrow cinched in her bow and lined up. Alex’s eyes glance over and she sees Johnny standing up with his gun pointing in front of him. He slinks over to the door and glances at Alex seeing she’s ready. The two of them share a look and Alex nods her head and Johnny grabs the door handle. He holds up one finger, then two, and finally, three. The door flings open and Alex readies to let the arrow loose while Johnny trains the gun at the person on the other side of the door.

“Woah there Hawkling. I’d like to see my next birthday,” Tony says as he holds his hands up. Clint and Nat are in front of him whilst the rest of the team are gathered around.

“You two mind lowering those. I’d rather not get shot today,” Clint remarks with a raised brow. Alex sighs and she and Johnny lower their weapons.

“I thought you understood we were coming today?” Natasha asks with narrowed eyes.

“We did,” Alex and Johnny says simultaneously with scowls on their faces.

“Can’t be too cautious considering. Would you rather we have opened the door unprepared?” Johnny adds in with his own brow raised and a look at Nat. With a smirk, Nat walks by him and pats him on the shoulder.

“No,” the team says at once and Alex rolls her eyes.

“Can we go now? Please. I’m bored here,” Alex says with a huff. Clint snorts but nods his head.

The team moves out of the cabin and stand in front of it in order to give the younger Avengers room to gather their things. They don’t have to wait long for Johnny and Alex to grab their meager belongings and meet them out front. Alex looks around but doesn’t see any vehicles or the quinjet.

“Where’s our ride?” she asks as her gaze moves over to her dad.

“In a clearing half mile away. We’ve got the quinjet in stealth mode,” Clint replies with a nod of his chin in the direction the plane is in. Alex opens her mouth to say something when there is a loud explosion and she’s thrown through the air.

Alex comes to with a groan. She’s not sure how long she was out but she can hear the crackle of a fire. She blinks and her eyes roam to where the cabin is. Flames burn from the rubble and Alex shifts her gaze around her. She sees smoke and debris from the explosion lying all around her. Rolling over on her stomach, Alex gasps from the pain shooting through her ribs and her hand instantly moves to hold them. 

Footsteps sound in front of her and Alex glances up to see a pair of booted feet. Drifting her gaze up, Alex’s eyes take in the khaki’s and t-shirt of the dark haired man in front of her. Alex let’s out another groan as she pushes herself up. Before she gets too far, Someone grabs her hair and yanks her head back. Her eyes fall on the man in front of her and he grins evilly at her. Alex shoots him a glare but then pain shoots into the side of her head and her vision fades to black with the sound of her name being shouted.


	5. Chapter 5

“Why the hell not Nina?! I thought you were supposed to be a damn computer Houdini?!” Clint shouts at the hacker as he shoves a chair over.

“Barton…” Steve tries calmly but abruptly stops when Clint rounds on him.

“Don’t ‘Barton’ me Rogers! It’s not your daughter in the hands of Hydra!” Clint snaps out with a cold, steely glare aimed at Steve. After the explosion, the team had come to in time to see members of Hydra, or Dark Renegade, carry an unconscious Alex off. Clint had shouted her name and ran after them but was quickly intercepted by other Hydra members.

“Listen, I’m doing my best here but it’s not like I have a lot to work with,” Nina says trying to keep the archer calm. She knows Clint and Natasha are just worried. Speaking of Natasha, Nina sends a scowl at the woman standing behind her and looming over her shoulder. “It doesn’t help that Widow is towering over me either.”

“I can’t take the chance you’ll miss something,” Nat growls out as her eyes hone in on everything Nina is doing. Nina’s scowl deepens but continues working on her computer whilst grumbling.

“All right, let’s just calm down for a minute…” Tony tries with his hand raising in an attempt to calm the tension.

“Shut up Stark!” Clint and Natasha snap as identical glares are aimed at the billionaire. Lee and Joey jump at the explosion and glance over at Steve with wide eyes.

“We’re not helping Alex any by hovering over Nina. Stark why don’t you help Nina on the computer front. Joey, Lee, why don’t you look through the paperwork we’ve accumulated from the Hydra buildings we’ve infiltrated,” Steve begins and watches as those three rush off to fulfill their duties. Steve turns his attention to Clint, Natasha, Wanda, and Pietro. “We have a few Hydra agents in custody. Let’s push them and see what they know. We’ll work in pairs. Clint, you take Wanda. Natasha go with Pietro.”

“Clint and I should be together,” Natasha says with a tense jaw. Clint nods his head in agreement. Steve shakes his head.

“No. I need an overly pissed assassin with each Hydra agent. And someone to stop the overly pissed assassin from committing murder,” Steve says with a pointed look at both assassins. Clint and Natasha scowl but don’t argue with the logic any further. 

“Who’re you going with?” Wanda asks with a raised brow.

“I’m going to go find Johnny,” Steve says before quickly leaving the room.

AVENGERS

The steady thump of flesh hitting something solid reaches Steve’s ears. He hopes it’s Johnny. If Steve was in his position he’d be hitting a bag. When Steve enters the gym he searches the room. Off to the side Johnny is beating a hanging bag with his bare fists.

“Not as satisfying as actually hitting Hydra is it?” Steve asks as his eyes focus on Johnny and he leans up against the door frame.   
Johnny stops and let’s out a sigh before he turns around. He grabs a bottle and takes a large drink of water, his gaze on Steve. Once done, Johnny re-caps the bottle and focuses all of his attention on the man before him.

“Why? You think you can make it happen?” Johnny asks with his jaw set and a raise of an eyebrow. Steve smirks and shrugs a shoulder before pushing off the door frame and making his way over to him.

“We do need to get information,” Steve says with an arch of an eyebrow and fixing Johnny with a look.

“Lead away Captain,” Johnny says with a wave of his hand and a devilish smirk forming on his lips.

AVENGERS

Alex awakes with a gasp when ice, cold water is splashed on her. She tries to wipe her face but realizes she’s tied to a chair. Hearing movement around her Alex blinks her eyes and shakes her head to clear her vision, realizing too late how bad an idea that is. When her vision clears, Alex looks around and sees she’s surrounded by a number of people. In front of her is the dark-haired man she saw before she got knocked out. Speaking of, the throbbing in her head makes itself loudly known.

“Sorry for the abrupt courtesy call,” the dark-haired man says with no actual hint of apology in his tone.

“It’d be better if I knew who you were,” Alex growls out with a glare at the man. He smiles and Alex sees his teeth are perfect in every way. With a scowl, Alex takes in the rest of the man before her. His brown eyes are dark and almost soul-searching. His eyes crinkle in the corner and dimples are present as he smiles.

“I’m sure you’ve heard of us. The Dark Renegade,” the man continues and keeps his eyes on Alex. She shifts under his scrutiny and her gaze drops to take in his muscular body. Blue eyes shift up to meet brown and Alex tilts her head to the side.

“You’re the Death Serpent,” she says and she sees his eyes dance in… admiration?

“So, you’ve heard of me?” he asks with a smile and Alec snorts.

“Don’t I get a prize for figuring it out?” she asks with a smirk and a raise of her brow.

“Like?” the Death Serpent asks with an amused smirk.

“Your real name,” Alex says matter-of-factly and gives him an unwavering gaze. He watches her for a moment before he speaks again.

“You know when we first caught wind that Agents Barton and Romanoff had a child we knew it was our open ticket. We kidnap you and we would have SHIELD’s two very best agents at our beck and call. Unfortunately, someone beat us to it,” the Death Serpent begins to explain. Alex scowls and sends a heated look his way. She attempts to loosen her ropes but finds them too tight, only resulting in bruising her wrists further and probably causing bleeding. 

“And then you found out it was SHIELD,” Alex says, wanting him to continue talking. The man nods his head.

“We had one of our agents find where you were. However, even at a young age, you were more competent than we thought,” the man adds in.

“That, and SHIELD got to me first yet again,” Alex challenges with a smirk. “You know, for Hydra’s Elite Squad you suck.”  
All Alex sees is a blur before a fist connects with her face. Alex’s head flings back and she quickly stifles a groan. With a shake of her head, Alex blinks her vision back into focus. She grimaces at the pain exploding through her head and the blood she can feel dripping from her nose.

“You’re forgetting your place Alexandra Barton,” the Death Serpent says in a cold voice. Alex wriggles her nose to feel how bad it is before sending the man a glare.

“So, why’d you stop trying to kidnap me? If you really wanted me shouldn’t you have doubled your efforts?” Alex asks as she forces the pain back down. The smirk appears back on the Death Serpents face.

“It was too dangerous. If we were unsuccessful… If we were found out… It would destroy everything we were putting into motion,” the dark-haired man says as he begins to walk around Alex. 

“So, what changed two years ago?” Alex asks as she takes in her surroundings as her gaze follows the Death Serpent.

“An inhuman. With a gift to see into the future,” the man says as he comes back to the front. He turns and looks directly at Alex. “She gave us a prophecy.”

Alex’s eyes narrow at this. She has heard in-humans are around that are capable of such things. She shifts her gaze back over to the man in front of her. The man watches her closely and Alex all but rolls her eyes. 

“Well? Are you going to reveal said prophecy or do I have to guess that too?” Alex asks with a scowl. The man’s eyes darken and Alex thinks she’s about to feel pain once again. However, it doesn’t come. Instead, the Death Serpent meanders and starts talking.

“She said, ‘SHIELD and their child will take down Hydra’,” the Death Serpent replies with a scowl. He turns and glares at Alex.

“And this is my fault why?” Alex asks giving the Death Serpent a scowl and glare of her own.

“She said SHIELD and their child. Not it. Last we checked, both your parents are SHIELD agents. And not just any agents. They are the most well-known; the best of the best. They are SHIELD,” the dark-haired man growls out and Alex forces a swallow.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony and Nina startle and look up when the door to the computer room slams open. In walks the group who had interrogated the Hydra agents. Clint and Natasha are in the front with Steve and the twins hurrying to catch up. Natasha’s face is cold and hard but other than that there’s no emotion. Clint’s face, however, looks as if he’s going to drop a nuclear bomb down Hydra’s throat.

“I take it you didn’t get anything?” Tony asks with a raised brow. Clint sends him a glare and Natasha hovers by the computers and stares at the screens. Steve shoots Tony a look that tells him to ‘shut up’, which Tony thankfully does.

“Where’s Johnny?” Nina asks as her eyes drift to look behind the group. 

“Blowing off some steam before he goes over the edge,” Steve explains with a nod in the general direction of the gym and Nina nods her head.

“You guys get something yet?” Natasha asks with impatience in her voice and a glare at the computer screen.

“Yeah, but you might want to get Johnny down here first,” Tony answers with a look at the group in front of him. 

Five minutes later and Johnny is storming into the room. Clint and Natasha turn their attention to Tony and cross their arms and raise their eyebrows in impatience. Tony sighs but turns around and begins typing on the keyboard. He pulls up images and information and projects them onto the large screen.

“Chase Morgan,” Tony says as he pulls up a picture of a dark-haired man with dark brown eyes to the forefront. “There’s been a theory going around he’s Hydra. Unfortunately, we don’t have much proof.”

“And you’re telling us about him why?” Clint growls out with his voice dripping with impatience.

“Because, Robin Hood,” Tony snarks back earning a glare from Clint and a grimace from Steve. “He has a research center based in the outskirts of Boston.”

“I’ll bite. Why is this important?” Johnny asks from where he’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Tony pulls forward a satellite video of the facility.

“In your experience, what research facility needs this much security?” Stark asks with a raised brow and a look at the rest of the group.

“One that’s trying to hide something,” Natasha spits out with a glare at the footage where numerous bodies stand guard or are patrolling.

“What makes you think Alex is there? We can’t just invade anything. Alex doesn’t have that kind of time,” Clint asks as he studies the footage with narrowed eyes.

“We sent one of Stark’s Thermal Imaging drones out there under the radar,” Nina explains as she pulls up another video feed. This time the feed shows red blotches shaped like humans. The team watches as the feed moves over the facility until it gets to the rear. It stops and Natasha lets out a quiet gasp. The feed shows an almost empty room. In the middle is a lone figure sitting in what seems to be a chair. Outside the room there are two more figures who seem to be standing guard. 

“It could be anyone,” Steve says but knows they’re going to check it out either way. They can’t take the chance that it is Alex.

“You want to take that chance? Because we don’t,” Clint challenges as he jerks a thumb at Natasha and then himself.

“Wasn’t planning on it. Suit up,” Steve announces with a look at the resident assassins and the team quickly disperses.

AVENGERS

Alex grunts as she reaches down to the middle of her belt. The Death Serpent and his goons left about fifteen minutes prior. The only reason she’s still alive is because they need her for bait for her parents. It seems to be easier if they kill them all at once; at least that’s what the Dark Renegade think. Finally reaching her belt, Alex pulls at what looks like the silver circle surrounding one of the holes. Instead, it’s a knife hidden inside her belt. Alex maneuvers the knife around and begins cutting at the rope that’s chafing her wrists.

It doesn’t take long, but definitely longer than Alex wants, before the ropes give way and her hands are free. Standing up, Alex replaces the knife in her belt. She silently and swiftly moves to the door and listens carefully. She doesn’t hear anything but she’s not stupid to believe there won’t be guards. Turning around, Alex takes in her surroundings.

She can make a loud banging noise with the chair. It will certainly lure the guards into the room. However, they’d more than likely call for backup; at least, notify the others before entering the room. Making a decision, Alex moves back over to the chair and grabs the rope. She puts her hands behind her and makes it look as if the rope is still around her wrists. With a smirk, Alex begins shouting.

“What do I have to do to get some water here?! It won’t do you any good if I die of dehydration before my parents come!” she shouts as she readies herself to put her plan into action.

The door opens and both guards stomp in with scowls on their faces. Alex sends them a smirk and quirks an eyebrow. It only serves to make their scowls deepen and the guards all but growl at her. With a roll of her eyes, Alex waits for her opening.

“You have a big mouth for you size,” the light-haired guard growls out with a scowl.

“I blame it on my father,” Alex replies with a grin and a tilt of her head. She nods her chin towards the door. “So, about that water.”

“Oh, I’ll give you water,” the second guard, the one whose face resembles a pit bull, threatens with a sneer.

As he steps forward threateningly, Alex lashes out. She kicks his knee and he lets out a howl of pain. Before he drops to his good knee, Alex stands up and swings the chair at the blond guard. The chair smashes in his face. The blond stumbles and Alex punches the pit bull looking guard in the shoulder which turns him away. She wraps the rope around his neck and pulls before she throws a kick at the other guard approaching her. It lands in his stomach and stops his forward movement. Alex lifts her leg and kicks him in the head. The blond’s head flings to the side and he falls to the floor. Turning her attention to the other guard, Alex hears him gasping for air as she’s pulling on the rope. Pulling harder, Alex waits for him to pass out. With a yank of the rope Alex deposits the unconscious guard onto the ground.

“I blame that on my mother,” Alex says before she quickly grabs their guns and jogs to the door. She places one gun in the back of her waistband and holds the other in front of her. 

Peering out, Alex sees the hall is empty. She glances at the walls and ceiling, and after not seeing any cameras she swiftly moves into the hall. Not really knowing which way is the way out, Alex goes to the right. When she gets to the end she peers around the corner. To the left is a door and a couple of guards. She jerks back and steels herself. Her eyes dart to the door ten feet away. Swiftly moving over to it, Alex opens it. It’s a closet. Glancing around and not seeing anyone, Alex slams the door shut and movies back to the end of the hall.

There are shouts for clarification from the guards and then, Alex hears them walking towards her. Readying herself to pounce, Alex waits patiently. As soon as the first guard rounds the corner Alex is slamming the butt of the gun in his face. He drops to the floor and Alex wastes no time in attacking the other guard. She swings the gun and smashes it into the side of his temple. 

Five minutes later Alex has dragged the guards bodies into the closet. She silently closes the door and rushes to the door they were guarding. She silently opens the door and glances out realizing the door leads to outside. After deeming the surrounding area clear, Alex slides out while keeping her head on a swivel.

Alex jogs over to the edge of the building and looks around the corner. Suddenly, she’s hit in the face and she drops to the ground, the gun escaping her possession. With a groan Alex feels her nose and sees it’s bleeding once again. A figure in front of Alex looms over her. Blinking her eyes clears her vision and Alex realizes a gun is pointing at her. 

“Get up,” the man orders and moves to talk into his radio. Alex pushes herself to her knees and before the guy can notify anyone, Alex reaches behind her. She pulls the other gun out of her waistband and shoots the guard in the chest. Knowing her cover is blown now, Alex runs towards the driveway after gathering the gun she dropped.

Gunshots sound behind her and she starts to run towards the trees. Suddenly, she jerks and there’s pain in her left arm. Not taking the chance to slow down, though, Alex keeps running through the trees. Abruptly, someone steps in front of her and Alex immediately attacks them. 

She shoves the weapon in their hands to the side and throws a punch at them. However, they block it and tries to restrain her. She swivels out of the hold and throws another punch. The punch is blocked again and she’s swung around. Alex’s back shoves into a tree behind her and she tries to break the hold. Pain shoots into her shoulder and her head swims from the effort.

“Alex, it’s us. It’s me,” Clint says as he rests a hand on the side of her face and Alex really looks at her attacker this time. Her heart racing and her breathing heavy, Alex sees it’s indeed her dad. Her eyes dart around to see the rest of the team as well and she feels her body sag against the tree.

Someone walks up to her and Alex’s head jerks around to see who it is. Natasha is standing next to them and her eyes take in the blood dripping from Alex’s nose causing her to grimace. Alex watches as Nat’s eyes shift down and instantly widen. She grabs Alex’s arm to get a better look and Alex hisses. Now that the cavalry is here the adrenaline is beginning to leave Alex’s body and all her injuries are making themselves known.

“You’re shot,” Nat says with a voice that is strained and up an active. She shares a look with Clint who is scowling at the wound. Natasha looks back at Tony and Steve seeing the worry on their faces.

“We need to get her checked out,” she orders and Steve and Tony nod their heads.

“Let’s go then,” Steve says and glances towards where he suddenly hears a siren sound.

“Yeah, before we have all of Hydra on our asses,” Johnny says as he steps over to Alex and gives her a quick hug which she returns.

“We need to go,” Clint urges and the team rushes to where they left the quinjet.


	7. Chapter 7

Alex walks down the hall of Avengers HQ. Under strict orders from her parents Alex had gotten checked out in the medical center on site. Her nose was bruised but, thankfully, not broken. The bullet wound was a through and through so the doctor stitched it up and sent her on her way with some pain killers and a sling. Now Alex is making her way to the computer room where the team is gathered. 

After Alex reaches the door she opens it and enters the room. Her eyes dart around and take in everyone present. Her gaze stops on Pietro who gives her a small smile which she returns. Shifting her gaze to the TV screen Alex’s eyes widen. She takes a few steps forward with her eyes never leaving the picture of the man on the screen.

“Alex?” Natasha asks with a furrowed brow as she notices her daughters reaction.

“That’s him,” she says as her shoulders tense up and she forces a swallow.

“That’s who?” Johnny asks and steps up next to his partner. His gaze shifts between the picture and Alex.

“This is Chase Morgan. He has ties to Hydra and he owns the research center where you were held,” Steve explains as watches Alex closely. His brow furrows at the tension radiating of her.

“Alex? Who is this guy?” Clint asks as he too watches his daughter closely. The reaction she is having to the picture is putting him on edge.

“He’s the leader of Dark Renegade. He’s the Death Serpent,” Alex says with a look over at her parents. Her gaze shifts to Johnny and Steve before landing back on her mom and dad.

“You’re sure?” Natasha asks with a glance at the picture and then looks back at Alex with a raised brow.

“I’m positive,” Alex says with a nod of her head as she looks back at the screen.

“Well, that’s one question answered. Now, how do we get rid of the bastard,” Johnny asks with a scowl and a glare at the picture before he looks over at Steve.

“Yeah… About that,” Alex says before her jaw clenches and the team turns to look at her.

AVENGERS

“So, let me get this straight,” Tony says after Alex finishes explaining the prophecy and everything she learned from Morgan. “Our two residential assassins and their daughter are the key to defeating Hydra and their Elite force?”

“Well, that’s what Morgan believes,” Alex says with a shrug of her good shoulder but a grimace appears when it still causes slight pain.

“He only needs to believe it. If he believes it, then it causes trouble for us,” Steve deadpans with a look at Tony, his lips pursed in anger.

“Already has,” Pietro says from where he’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Alex looks over at him and their gazes meet. Pietro smirks at her and Alex quirks an eyebrow. A clearing of a throat has them breaking eye contact and turning their attention to Johnny.

“So, what are we going to do about it? Because we can’t just sit back and watch. It didn’t work so well for us the last time,” Johnny says as he braces his hands on the table and looks at the team. His gaze ends on Alex and he gives her a reassuring smile.

“Before we do anything, we need to get as much information on this guy as we can. Look into everything including his family, friends, acquaintances…,” Steve says with a pointed look at Nina and Tony. Nina is already turning back to her computer by the time she speaks up.

“Don’t worry Steve. If it’s there we’ll find it,” Nina says even as she’s already typing into her computer.

Steve nods his head and he leaves with the rest of the team following after him. Alex moves to follow but her gaze shifts to Pietro who hasn’t moved yet. He sends her a seductive smile. Alex returns it and quirks an eyebrow before walking out of the room. Pietro quickly follows after her after making sure no one on the team has noticed. 

“That kids going to get himself killed,” Tony mumbles with a shake of his head as he begins his research. Nina smirks in response before continuing to type into the computer.

AVENGERS

Alex’s eyes pop open at the sound of knocking on her ‘apartment’ door. With a furrow of her brow Alex listens when a voice is heard. Her eyes widen and she bolts upright into a sitting position before listening intently. The gruff voice sounding through the door has her immediately on edge.

“Alex, come on. Tony and Nina found something,” Clint shouts through the door before banging on it a few more times.

“Shit,” Alex exclaims and she smacks the person lying next to her a couple times. “Get up. Now. My dad’s here.”

There is a groan and the person sits up and shoves the blankets off him. Outside the room the knocking and shouts sounds once again. Alex jumps out of bed and quickly gets dressed. Turning to face the bed, she looks towards Pietro and gives him a firm look.

“You need to go. He’ll kill you if he sees you here,” she whispers harshly and Clint’s voice is heard again. Pietro’s eyes widen when what is happening finally catches up to him and he speed dresses. Alex, fully clothed, exits the bedroom and leaves the door open. She rushes out to the front of the apartment and opens the door, sending a grin at Clint.

“Hey dad,” Alex says and Clint narrows his eyes. He peers into the room behind her before walking inside and looking around. When his back is to her and the pathway to the front door, Alex waves her arm. There is a blur and her hair whips in her face from a sudden breeze. Clint turns towards her and she smiles again.

“You said Tony and Nina found something?” Alex asks as she raises her brow, trying to move the conversation past Clint’s suspicions. Clint studies her closely before nodding his head slowly.

“Yeah. Come on. They’re waiting for us,” Clint finally says and leads Alex out the makeshift apartment. 

AVENGERS

“Go ahead Stark,” Steve says with a nod of his chin at Tony when Clint and Alex walk into the room.

Clint glances over at Pietro and narrows his eyes causing Pietro to look away and over at Tony. Eyes narrowing at the kid further, Clint turns his attention to Stark. Clint doesn’t know why but he’s pretty sure Alex is hiding something. And he’s sure it has to do with Speedy Gonzales over there. Tony starts talking and Clint looks up at the screen.

“Once a month, there is a gathering of a large amount of people here,” Tony begins and pulls up a picture of a secluded building. Alex glances at Pietro and they share a look before Tony’s voice pulls their attention back to the screen in front of them. “We’ve run facial analysis and the ones we’ve gotten hits on seem to have some sort of ties to Hydra.”

“Your dad catch you two?” Johnny whispers in Alex’s ear from behind causing Alex to shift uncomfortably. Alex scowls and glances behind her, sending Johnny a glare.

“No. He left when dad wasn’t looking,” Alex whispers back with a glance at Clint before looking back at the screen. Johnny snorts and shakes his head before looking over at Steve. Realizing Steve is watching them Johnny sends him a smirk which causes Steve to quirk a brow. He’s not stupid; he knows with Steve’s super soldier hearing, the man definitely heard their conversation.

“I knew it,” he says looking back at the screen and Alex stomps on his foot. Johnny smirks again and glances back at Steve who’s staring back at the screen.

“So, you think this is Hydra?” Steve asks with a pointed look at Tony and Nina before nodding up at the screen.

“No,” says Nina with a shake of her head. She pulls up a photo of people arriving at the building. She zooms in on one particular person as Tony starts talking. 

“Not technically. We thinks it’s the Dark Renegade. So, Hydra but not Hydra as we know them,” Tony announces as the screen shows Chase Morgan greeting the arrivals.

“When’s the next meeting?” Alex asks with her eyes glued to the man on the screen.

“We’re trying to figure out now,” Nina replies as she looks over at Alex seeing her jaw clench and a determination set in her stance.

“As soon as we find out we’ll let you know,” Tony says and looks over at Clint and Natasha before looking to Steve.

“Good. Because if we can surprise them then…” Steve begins but an explosion interrupts them and sends the building quaking around them.

“Not again,” Johnny grumbles with a scowl and an eye roll.


	8. Chapter 8

“What are you doing?” Clint asks Alex as the two of them meet at an intersection in the hallway. They are returning from getting their weapons and Clint notices Alex’s sling is gone.

“Uh… getting ready to fight these dumb asses,” Alex replies with her brows raised and a hint of annoyance in her tone.

“No way…” Clint orders with a shake of his head. He glances behind her and sees a blur bolt down the hallway followed by a breeze.

“I’m not running away this time. I’m going to fight,” Alex says determinedly with a hard look at her dad. Clint meets her look with a hard stare of his own; neither one of them willing to back down.

“Will you two birds stop staring at each other like you’re fighting over the last mouse and get moving,” Tony grumbles as he runs by them in his suit. Both Clint and Alex scowl and glare at Tony’s back. The rest of the team rushes by them and Clint looks over at Alex.

“You stay close. That is not up for debate,” Clint orders to Alex as they run after the team.

When Alex and the team reach the Hall she takes in the scene before her. What seems to be the whole of Dark Renegade is in the room already making their way towards the balcony the team is on. Alex’s eyes search the mass of people until they fall on Morgan.

“There he is. There’s Morgan,” Alex announces and she points to him before looking over at the group. The team follows her finger and sees him, a mixture of glares and scowls on their faces.

“All right. We each take a section of the room and clear it,” Steve says as a battle plan begins to form in his mind. “Rhodey and Tony take the East side. Pietro and Wanda, the West. Nat, you and Johnny take the South. Sam and I will take the North. Clint, you and Alex stay here on the balcony and take them out from a distance.”

“Aye aye Captain,” Tony says with a mock salute before everyone immediately disperses to their sections. Steve looks over at Clint who gives him a nod of appreciation. There is no reason for Alex to be in the fray if she doesn’t have to, especially with a bullet wound.

AVENGERS

Tony and Rhodey fly overhead their section and shoot their blasters at the Dark Renegade agents. A large number of them fall to the ground, dead. Tony lands and shoots a blaster at another agent as the agent rushes him. Stark can feel Rhodey at his back fighting off the agents himself. Tony looks to his left and sees one of the agents with a massive gun pointing at them. The agent shoots it and Tony shoves Rhodey out of the way and takes cover himself. The two friends fall to the ground and look at the agent as a loud explosion sounds from a different part of the Hall. As the agent aims the gun at them again, Tony and Rhodey shoot their blasters at him simultaneously and the agent becomes airborne before crashing into the wall behind him. The agent slides to the floor, unconscious or dead they’re not sure and they don’t care at this point.

Tony and Rhodey leap to their feet and with their backs together face opposite directions. Spinning in a circle they shoot their blasters and dispense of the rest of the agents in their section. Before they can breathe a sigh of relief though, Tony and Rhodey hear a familiar shout. Their attention instantly diverts to the direction it sounded from.

AVENGERS

Sam flies overhead the foray with Steve hanging in his grasp. When they reach their destination, Sam lets go and Steve drops to the ground. Steve lands on top of one of the agents and they fall to the ground. Taking his shield off his back Steve hits the agent in the face and the agent goes limp. Turning around, Steve blocks a punch and hits the agent in the face before kicking him. The agent flies back and into two other agents and they crash to the floor.

Sam drops to the ground and covers his body with his steel feathers as the agents shoot at him. The bullets don’t even make a dent. The wings fling open and knock some agents to the ground who are too close. Sam shoots at the agents around him and they fall, unmoving, to the ground. 

Cap’s shield flies by Sam and in the midst of an arc takes out seven more agents. It returns back to Steve and Sam looks over at him. The two of them share a look before they turn and knock out a couple agents nearby. 

A loud explosion sounds and Steve and Sam turn their attention towards it. There eyes widen and a shout reaches their ears. The balcony is crashing to the ground and Steve and Sam make quick work of the last few agents before following Tony and Rhodey towards the crumbling balcony.

AVENGERS

Wanda waves her arms around and sends Dark Renegade agents into walls and flying through the air. She waves her hands again and sends two agents into each other. A sickening crunch is heard as their heads crash into each other.

Meanwhile, Pietro speeds between the army of agents. He hits some, yanks others into walls or each other, and those with guns he moves their arms so they’re shooting their fellow agents instead. He goes to hit another agent but the agent is yanked away and smashed into the wall. Pietro stops and looks over at Wanda. With an annoyed look sent towards her, Pietro scowls. It only results in Wanda smirking in return.

An explosion and crashing sounds nearby and Pietro and Wanda looks towards the balcony. Pietro’s eyes widen as he sees the balcony crashing to the ground with Clint and Alex riding it down. Alex let’s out a shout as she grabs Clint’s arm for balance. With a sigh of relief Pietro watches as the balcony comes to a rest on the floor. The relief doesn’t last long though when a boulder loosens from above and falls towards the two archers.

“Alex!”

AVENGERS

Natasha punches the agent she’s fighting in the face and then throws a spinning kick. Her foot smashes into the side of the agent and she falls to the ground unconscious. Not waiting, Natasha turns around and kicks another agent in the stomach. He doubles over and Nat punches him sending his head to the side. The agent collapses to the ground. Turning around, Natasha sees another agent almost on top of her.

Before Nat can do anything Johnny crashes into him and throws him into the wall. Johnny looks over and Natasha gives him a small smile which he returns. Johnny grabs the nearest agent and smashes his fist into the agents face. The agent falls to the ground.

Both ex-SHIELD agents whip their heads around when an explosion sounds and a crash reverberates around them. They see the balcony falling and Natasha’s eyes widen. She rushes towards the crumbling balcony. Johnny grabs her and holds her back but Natasha sends him a glare.

The crashing sound dies down and Natasha and Johnny look over to see the balcony has come to a stop. Natasha yanks her arm out of Johnny’s grasp now that the danger is passed. She starts to swiftly make her way towards Clint and Alex, worry for them written on her face.

“Alex!” Johnny’s head instantly snaps towards Alex when Pietro’s shout is heard. Johnny’s eyes grow large when he notices the huge piece of cement falling towards his partner and Clint.

Without another thought, Johnny runs towards her. He jumps onto part of the balcony and pushes off it. He flies through the air and grabs the cement boulder. Just as he nears Alex, Johnny twists his body and throws the cement piece at a group of Dark Renegade agents. The boulder crashes into them and a large number of them are crushed.

Johnny falls to the ground and lets out a groan. After a moment, he rolls onto his stomach and pushes his self onto his hands and knees. A hand appears in front of him and Johnny looks up to see Steve. Taking the proffered hand, Johnny pulls himself to his feet. The rest of the team is there now and they have created a half circle. They look around at the rest of the agents and steel themselves for the last leg of the fight.

AVENGERS

Alex and Clint continue to shoot at Dark Renegade agents, disposing them one at a time. Clint tries not to focus on the grimaces and groans Alex is trying to stifle from the pain in her arm. When they run out of arrows they push a button and they all return to their quivers. Clint smirks over at Alex who returns it. That is the best invention ever, Clint thinks to himself.

Aiming her bow and arrow at another agent Alex lets it loose. The agent jerks from the impact and drops to the ground. Something catches her eye and Alex looks over in time to see a large gun sending out a blast. Watching as Tony and Rhodey dodge it, Alex’s eyes widen as she realizes the blast is heading straight for the balcony.

“Dad!” Alex calls and Clint looks over to see the blast.

“Get down!” Clint shouts and yanks Alex down and behind the half wall for cover.

The blast hits just below the balcony and the whole floor shakes. Clint stands up and looks down but can’t see anything. Alex stands up but suddenly the balcony shakes and begins to fall and crumble. Alex grabs Clint’s arm to better stable herself as the balcony crashes into the ground. It slides a few feet before coming to a halt.

Alex looks back and sees the mess and let’s out a breath. A look at her dad tells her he’s okay. She sees him looking her over as well before scowling at his observations. Before either one of them can say anything. Alex’s name is shouted. Alex’s eyes look over to meet Pietro’s fear-filled ones.

Alex furrows her brow but then movement catches her eyes. She looks over in time to see Johnny charging at her. He leaps above her and Alex ducks. She hears a grunt and looks up. Johnny has grabbed a hold of a massive piece of cement and throws it to the side. She watches as the cement crashes into a group of Dark Renegade agents.

Alex straightens up and looks around at the rest of the team that’s just joined her and her dad. They all look at the last group of Dark Renegade agents. In the back of them Alex notices the Death Serpent, Chase Morgan, standing and smirking at her. With a glare she follows his movement.

Just as Morgan lifts his hand, the rest of the agents attack. The Avengers meet them half way and immediately the fight ensues. Alex flies by everyone and aims for Morgan. She jumps over a piece of cement,thankful for the pain killer acting adrenaline. As Alex lands, Morgan attacks her.

Alex blocks the first blow and counters it with one of her own. It’s blocked by Morgan and he gets a hit in. Alex’s head jerks back at the blow. With a stumble, Alex gains her balance only to have Morgan kick her in the stomach. Alex flies to the ground a few feet away and lets out a groan. Her bow clatters to the ground and the sound of arrows falling out of her quivers echoes around her as well. With a shake of her head Alex gets her vision to clear only to see Morgan approaching her. Her eyes widen as she sees him pointing a gun at her. With a smile and a gleam in his eye Morgan pulls the trigger. Alex flinches as a gunshot rings out.

AVENGERS

Pietro speeds by and yanks a Dark Renegade agent with him. Flinging the agent into the nearby wall Pietro stops and looks around. His eyes widen when they fall on Alex across the room. She’s lying on the ground and Morgan is approaching her with his gun drawn and aimed at her. Before Pietro knows what he’s doing, he’s speeding towards Alex as a gunshot sounds in the air.

AVENGERS

When there is no pain Alex looks up only to feel her heart skip a beat and her breath catch in her throat. Standing in front of her is Pietro who is wavering on his feet. As Alex pushes her self to her knees Pietro falls to the ground. With a glance down Alex sees the red blossoming from Pietro’s chest.

“Pietro?” Alex asks even as she knows he’s gone. A low chuckle catches Alex’s attention and she looks up at Morgan. She scowls and sends him a glare. Before she can do anything, thought, Alex hears an anguished shout. 

Morgan’s eyes widen and Alex looks over to see Wanda drop to her knees. A red light emanates from within her and it suddenly blasts out wards. Dark Renegade agents drop like flies around her.

Alex looks over at Morgan and sees he’s preoccupied by Wanda. Grabbing an arrow from the ground nearby, Alex shoves herself to her feet. Just as Chase Morgan, the Death Serpent, looks over at her movement, Alex shoves the arrow into his stomach.

“Alex, down!”

Alex drops down at her parents order followed by Morgan dropping to the ground in a heap. Alex looks over at him, taking in the arrows sticking out of his stomach and heart and the bullet hole in his forehead. Hearing heavy breathing Alex realizes it’s her.

Someone drops down next to her and she hears sobbing. A glance to her right tells Alex it’s Wanda who’s holding her brother close. Alex’s attention is drawn away when footsteps approach her. She looks up at Clint and Natasha.

“Is it over?” she asks as her voice hitches.

“Yeah, it’s over,” Natasha replies as she and Clint drop to their knees. They pull Alex in for a hug. Alex returns it but her gaze falls on Wanda and Pietro. She doesn’t bother to wipe away the tear that escapes.


	9. Chapter 9

Alex stares down at the object in her hand. Forcing a swallow and taking a deep breath Alex runs a hand through her hair. A knock on the door has Alex turning her head towards it. Natasha’s voice calling her name sounds through the closed door. Alex stands up and opens the bathroom door and her wide eyes meet Natasha’s curious ones.

“What’s wrong?” Natasha asks and takes a step forward. Her eyes drift down to the object in her daughter’s hand. Natasha’s eyes widen and she looks up and meets Alex’s gaze. “Alex?”

“It’s positive,” Alex says and takes a stuttering breath.

“Is Pietro the father?” Natasha asks and Alex nods her head. Natasha steps over to her and pulls Alex in for a hug. Alex hugs her back and clings to her.

“I don’t know if I can do this by myself,” Alex whispers into her mother’s shoulder.

“You won’t,” Clint’s voice sounds and Alex’s eyes widen when she sees her dad appear around the corner.

“Dad?” Alex asks, not expecting the calmness from him.

“I’ve been meaning to retire,” Clint says with a smile and a shrug of his shoulder.

“What about the Avengers?” Alex asks as she pulls away from Natasha and looks at Clint.

“Nat’ll stay with them,” Clint says after sharing a look with Natasha and getting a nod from her. Natasha looks at Alex and nods her head in agreement.

“Who’ll be her back up then?” Alex asks with a glance at both her parents.

“First of all, I’m not back up…” Clint says with a scowl. Alex smirks at her mother who rolls her eyes.

“I’m sure Johnny’ll be up for the challenge,” Natasha says and gives Alex a smile. Alex returns it and gives both her parents a hug.

“Not really sure how I feel about Pietro being the father though,” Clint grumbles out with a scowl on his face. Alex pulls away and shares a mischievous look with her mother.

“Come on dad. You didn’t see that coming?”


End file.
